Shoe-sewing machine.



A. BATES SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13,1912.

L1Q4J95, Patented Jan.5, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

THE NORRIS PETERS Ca., PHOTCLiTHU., WASHINGTON. D, f;v

A. BATES.

SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION nun JUNE 13, 1912.

. 1,124,195. Patented Jan. 5,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 54 THE ND RRIS PETERS c0 PHCYC L/WHZZ wuss-11A; TON. D v c ARTHUR BATES, OF LEICESTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SI-IOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF IPATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHOE-SEWING- MAGHIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 1915..

Original application filed June 17, 1911, Serial No. 633,750. Divided and this application filed June 13, 1912. Serial No. 703,486.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR BATES, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Leicester, in the county of Leicester, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Sewing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to shoe sewing machines, and more particularly to shoe sewing machines of the type in which the stroke of the needle is varied in accordance with changes in the thickness of the work, and in which the work is fed by an intermittently operating work-feeding awl or feed point.

The object of the invention is to produce a machine of this class having improved and simplified mechanism for actuating the awl, arranged to positively control the awl throughout its movement and to maintain the feed substantially constant notwith standing variations in the stroke of the needle.

With the above object in view, one feature of the invention contemplates the provision in a shoe sewing machine in which the stroke of the needle varies in accordance with changes in the thickness of the work, of an awl feed mechanism and operative connections between the same mechanism and the needle, which connections are so arranged that the awl is always under positive control and its feed is maintained substan tially constant notwithstanding variations of the stroke of the needle. The said operative connections may comprise a linkage, of which one element is connected with the needle bar and is so disposed that its said connection is upon a dead center when the needle is at or approximately at the limit of its penetrating stroke.

Further features of the invention consist of certain devices and combinations hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will be obvious to one skilled in the art from the following description.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 633,750, filed June 17th, 1911.

In the accompanying drawings higure 1 1s a side elevation, partly in section, of a sewing machine embodying the invention in ts preferred form; Fig. 2 is a view showmg in detail the mechanism for eflecting the work-feeding motion of the awl; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the parts in a diflerent operative position; Fig. 4 1s a detail view illustrating particularly the needle actuating mechanism, and showing the position which the parts assume when the needle reaches the limit of its upward stroke; Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the needle actuating mechanism.

In the machine as illustrated in the drawings, the rotatable horn 1 is arranged to be movable vertically to accommodate varying thicknesses of work and a stationary abutment 2 is provided against which the horn clamps the work during such times as a stitch is in progress of formation. The needle-driving mechanism varies the extent of downstroke' imparted to the needle and by means of connections between the horn and the needle-actuating mechanism this extent is automatically corrected to maintain correct cooperative relationship between the needle barb and looper in the horn tip. To insure that this variation shall correspond exactly with the thickness of the material, the abutment against which the horn clamps the work in calipering is located behind and in close proximity to the needle so that the part of the work that is calipered will be that in which the stitch is in process of formation and not the part of the work that is in front of, or in rear of this position. This has the advantage that the thread measured off from the supply will be in exact agreement with the thickness of that part of the work for which the stitch is being made.

To effect the vertical reciprocation of the needle bar the following mechanism is employed in this preferred embodiment of the invention: Upon the main shaft 3 of the machine is mounted an eccentric 4 (Fig. 1) the strap 5 of which has its arm 6 attached by a joint to the backwardly-extended arm 7 of a lever 7, 8, mounted to turn about a fulcrum 9 fixed upon the machine frame. The forwardly-extended arm 8 of the lever 7, 8 is coupled at 10 by a horizontally disposed crumed at 15 toward the rear of the machine frame. This last named lever is coupled with the horn 1 so as to have its angular position controlled by the movement of the horn in compensating for the thickness of the work. The connections between the lever 14 and the horn 1 comprise a rod 16 of which the upper end is coupled to the le ver while the lower end is pivoted to a treadle lever 17 and a link 18 that connects a sleeve 19, mounted upon an extension 20 of the horn, with the treadle lever 17. The connection betwen the sleeve 19 and the eX- tension 20 is such as to permit the horn to turn with relation to the sleeve but compel it to move vertically therewith. A spring 21 on the rod 16 tends to maintain the horn in its uppermost position.

To the horizontally-disposed connecting link 11 thereis centered at 22 near its joint with the anchor link 12', a pair of axially alined' twin links 23 which have their free ends connected at 24 to the pendant twin arms 25 of a bell crank lever 25, 26 fulerume'd at 27 upon the machine frame. The forwardly-extended arm 26 of the bell crank lever 25, 26 is connected with the needle bar 28 by a suitable link 29. p

In the operation of the needle mechanism arranged asset forth, the needle bar 28 is reciprocated vertically from the eccentric 4 through the connections described; by which connections, it will be noted, the needle is maintained under positive control throughout its stroke. But according to the particular arrangement of the parts now to be described, the upper limit ofthe path of the needle 30 is maintained always constant while the lower limit thereof varies in accordance with the thickness of the work. To maintain-constant the upper limit of the stroke ofthe needle bar, the pivots 24 (connecting the pendent twin arms 25 of the bell crank lever 25, 26, and the twin links 23) are substantially co-axial with the pivot 10 (connecting the horizontally-disposed connecting link 11 with the arm 8 of the lever 7, 8) whenever the needle bar 28 is at the said upper limit, the said pivot 10 being then located between the pivots24 of the twin links 23, as shown in- Fig. 4. By this disposition of the parts, movement of the anchor link 12, due to alterations in the position of the horn 1 will swing both the horizontally-disposed connecting link 11 and the twin links 23 connecting it with the pendent arm 25 of the bell crank lever 25, 26, about a common center, whereby the bell crank lever will remain in a constant Dosition irrespective of variations in the position of the anchor link 12 owing to variation in the height of the horn 1. Thus, while these centers 10, 24, are in co-aXial relationship the lever 14 connected with the horn may be turned on its center 15 without producing any movement of the bell crank lever 25, 26, or the needle bar 28; and as this is the position of the parts when the machine is at rest, the horn 1 can be depressed for the removal of the Work or for placing stock thereon without affecting the position of the needle 30.

At its upward extremity of movement, the pivot 10 connecting the horizontally-disposed link 11 to the arm 8 of the lever 7 8, is brought into co-aXial alinement with the fulcrum 27 of the bell crank lever 25, 26, as shown in Fig; 1; and in this position, as will be: apparent, vertical movement of the anchor link 12 would effect a-turning of the bell crank lever 25, 26, so as to raise or lower the needle bar.

By this arrangement, the lower limit of the movement of the needle bar is varied according to the thickness of the work through the position which the horn assumes when bearing against the work acting through the anchor link 12 as above de scribed, it being understood that the movement imparted to the bell crank lever 25, 26, by the eccentric 4 and connections aforesaid will be augmented or diminished according to the angular adjustment of the bell crank lever 25, 26" by the anchor link 12 and its connections.

The machine is provided with a feed point or awl 31 (Figs. 2 and 3) which issecured to a pendent awl bar 32 coupled by a universal or Hookes joint 33 to a lever 34 pivoted at 35 (see also Fig. 1) on the machine frame and provided with a roller running in a cam groove 011 a cam 36 on the main shaft 3. The awl 31 is moved into and out of engagement with the work by this mechanism but is moved laterally to feed the work by connections from the needle bar 28. These connections comprise a collar 37 secured to the needle bar and connected by a link 38 to a lever 39 pivoted at 40 upon the machine frame, which lever is also connected by a link 41 to a lever 42. The lever 42 is pivoted to the machine frame at 43 approximately at its center and has its lower arm connected with the awl bar. Conveniently the said connection comprises a block 44 mounted upon the lower arm of the lever and engaging a slot 45 formed in the awl bar, the block being adjustable in a slot 46 along the lever so that the feeding stroke of the awl may be altered according to requirements.

To prevent the feeding stroke of the awl from being altered by the variation of the penetrating stroke of the needle owing to difi'erences in the thickness of the work, the dis osition of the link 38 that joins the C01- lar 37 on the needle bar with the lever 39 is such that at or approximately at the end of the penetrating stroke of the needle the pivotal connection between the link 38 and the collar 37 is upon a dead center and thereby the differences in the vertical position of the needle bar, due to the alteration of its stroke, will have a negligible effect upon the lever 42 that imparts the feeding movement to the awl. In place of this particular system of linkage herein described, any other suitable arrangement of parts may be'employed, by which, as in the foregoing construction, the awl is always under positive control and its feed maintained substantially constant notwithstanding variations of the stroke of the needle.

In a machine of this type as usually arranged, the work is clamped between the horn 1 and the abutment 2 and according to this invention the abutment is so located as to measure or caliper, in conjunction with the horn, the thickness of the work at the point at which the needle is operating, so that the length of thread required for the stitch is accurately determined. F or this purpose the abutment is mounted on the frame of the machine close to and behind the needle (Fig. 1) and is of such form as to have its contacting surface in close proximity to the needle. Conveniently the abut- I ment is adjustably received in a split socket 47 and is secured in its correctly adjusted position by a bolt 18 that passes through lugs projecting from the said socket. The abutment may act also as a work guide against the raised channel of the Work and in combination with the awl feed constitute means for turning the boot automatically when the toe 'or other curved portion of the boot is being sewn, by offering some resistance to the work (while it is being fed) toward the center about which it is required to turn.

In the machine illustrated in the drawing mechanism is provided for turning the horn when the toe or other sharply curved portions of the shoe are being operated upon, in order to assist the operator in the presentation of the work to the sewing devices. Inasmuch as this mechanism forms no part of the present invention and is fully described in application Serial No. 663,750, referred to above, no detailed description thereof is made in this application.

WVhile the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a machine provided with a shoe supporting horn and a vertically reciprocating straight hook needle, it is to be understood that except as defined in the claims the invention is not limited to any particular machine or class of machines, or to any particular construction or arrangement of parts.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention, and having described a machine embodying the same in its preferred form, what is claimed is:

1. A shoe sewing machine, having, in co1nbination, a needle, a work support, a presser 2. A shoe sewing machine, having, in

combination, a needle, a needle bar, a work support, a presser foot, means for rec1proeating the needle bar, a feeding awl, an awl carrier, a moving cam and suitable connections between the cam and the awl carrier for moving the awl toward and from the work, and connections between the awl carrier and needle bar for imparting feed and return strokes to the awl.

3. A shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, a needle, a needle bar, a work support, a presser foot, means controlled by the thickness of the work for imparting a variable stroke to the needle bar, a feeding awl, an awl carrier, a cam and suitable conned tions for moving the awl toward and from the work, and connections between the needle bar and awl carrier acting to impart a constant feed and return stroke to the awl regardless of variations in the needle stroke.

4. A shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, a needle, a needle bar, a work support, a presser foot, means controlled by the thickness of the work for imparting to the needle bar a stroke variable at one limit only, a feeding awl and connections between the needle bar and awl for imparting feed and return strokes to the awl, comprising a link movable to a dead center as the needle reaches the variable limit of its stroke.

5. A shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, a needle, a needle bar, a work support, a presser foot, means controlled by the thickness of the work for imparting to the needle bar a stroke variable at one limit only, a feeding awl, an awl carrier, an actuating lever connected with the awl carrier, a second lever, a link connecting said levers, and a link connecting said second lever and the awl carrier arranged to move to a dead center as the needle reaches the variable limit of its stroke.

6. A shoe sewing machine. having, in combination, a needle, a needle bar, mechanism for actuating the needle bar, a feeding awl, an awl carrier, a cam and suitable connections for actuating the awl carrier to move the awl toward and from the work, and connections between the needle bar and awl carrier for imparting feed and return move men o the a iqqmpr si g an a ua g-1 ver, an adjustable block andfl-slot connection between said lever and the awl carrier, a second lever, a connecting said levers and 5- a;- link connecting said second lever and the need e ara 7;. A shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, a needle, a needle bar, a work sup port, a presser foot, mechanism for recipro- 10'4 eating the needle bar, a work; feeding; awl,

an aw'l carrier, connections between the n edle; bar an W1 r er e t ng t impart fe d and retur str kes. o the W n rranged to maintain the awl under positive 15.1 controlthroughout its; feed movement, and

means independent of the needlemechanism for actuating the awl carrier to move the awl toward and from the WOIk.

8. A shoe sewlng mach ne,havlng, in combination, a needle, a needlebar, a work sup Y the needle bar. I

ARTHUR BATES.

Witnesses: H

FREDERICK WILLIAM WORTH,- WILLIAM THOMAS BUCKINGHAM ROBERTS.

emu ofthhipafent ma be obtained tor nve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

